Lambert Brown

Crime, crime and more crime seems to have been the order of the day in the month of May. Over 180 Jamaicans were murdered during that month. In the first week of this month, the mayhem continued. The Government that was elected to protect and secure the citizens seems clueless as to how to solve the problem of crime.

The prime minister, who campaigned during the elections on the basis of how easy it was to solve the crime problem, apparently wants to distance himself from his cardinal obligation to the people. He even tried to pass the buck to the commissioner of police. Not surprisingly, Commissioner Lewin, like his predecessor, Commissioner Thomas, was not about to take any nonsense and handed in his resignation.

Leaders must take responsibility

In my column at the beginning of May, I called for a crusade against the criminals. I suggested that our political leaders needed to take responsibility by admitting some truths about how we got here and their contribution to it. Many persons sent me very positive responses and indicated ways in which they, as citizens, could contribute to that crusade. Clearly, the people are begging for leadership to take charge and involve them in the fight to retake Jamaica from the criminals.

In the last two weeks, I have been inundated with texts messages, emails, instant messages, telephone calls from people in Jamaica, complaining about the stress they are suffering because of the runaway and out-of-control crime wave. Here, in Switzerland, where I am attending the International Labour Conference, conversation with the many Jamaicans I meet and interact with is dominated by their concerns about crime in our homeland.

In England, since January of this year, 15 youngsters were murdered with the use of knives, and that is a major crisis. Metal detectors are being introduced in schools and a crisis management is in place. There, it seems, their leaders value the lives of their citizens. Here, in Jamaica, not 15 but over 700 have been murdered in the same period, and there is no sense of urgency on the part of our leaders.

The people are writing reams and reams of articles and letters and speaking out on the talk shows, but the decisive action of our leaders being missing. Numerous practical suggestions have been made by the people in their letters, columns and general comments about what needs to be done. Sadly, our leaders are sleeping on the job. They, like the Burmese junta, have become deaf and dumb to the suffering of our people.

Crime-fighting measures

How do we show the people we are serious about protecting them? I repeat my call for two days of Parliament every six months to be dedicated to discussions and evaluation of crime and crime-fighting measures. This to include provisions for the needed social intervention programmes. No need for the prime minister to 'hold down Audley Shaw'. Let the Parliament reorder and approve the budget to tackle the number one priority facing the nation - the reduction of violent crime. Let the people's representative show us their worth as parliamentarians by publicly disassociating themselves from the dons and the garrison-type politics.

Let them show us that they stand firm with the security forces at the same times as they vote resources to train and develop programmes to help the unemployed youths in the inner cities. Let us see them take up the challenge of the Church to be part of the social intervention programme.

Let us hear them agreeing to walk with their political opponents from corner to corner in their constituencies reasoning with the youths and citizens, about the negative impact crime is having on our country and our future. Let us hear them talk about how they are going to get the youths into skills training and seek decent work for them. Let them establish an agency to coordinate all the private and public initiatives that now target communities so we do not duplicate scarce resources. Let that agency share the lessons learnt in respect of best practices in improving community life and relations.

Joint public meetings

Above all, let us hear the two leaders of the political parties agreeing to hold joint anti-crime public meetings in all parish capitals reaffirming that Jamaica is turning its back against crime and they are leading this process. Let them admit that the previous crime plans have failed because they never involved the mass of the Jamaican people as part of the plan.

Let them admit that all future crime plans will be doomed to similar failure if the people are not mobilised to be part of it. Let the parliamentarians agree to set up community and district meetings along non-partisan lines to discuss with the citizens ways to combat crime and cooperate with the security forces. In those meetings the leaders have to be willing to listen to the cries and needs of the citizens and commit to changing the conditions under which they live. The citizens know all the problems can't be solved overnight but they need to see some start. Hope is what they need to be restored. Sadly, the present Government does not seem to understand their obligation to keep that hope alive. Promises may make you win an election, but they certainly do not keep hope alive. Action in meeting the needs of the people on a daily basis is what keeps the hope of a safer and more secure Jamaica alive in the heart of our citizens.

Frank communication

Honest and frank communication with the people will also go a far way in winning the fight to isolate, alienate and ultimately destroy the criminals in our midst. In a crisis, our leaders must talk to the people and update them on how the battle is going. Weekly public briefings on the crusade against the criminals are essential to evaluation. Success or setbacks can be determined and confidence restored in a nation imprisoned by inaction, unwilling and inept leaders who are becoming a bigger problem than the criminals.

Lambert Brown is president of the University and Allied Workers Union and may be contacted at labpoyh@yahoo.com. Feedback may also be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.